§ Mr. SpearingTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what drafts of the Europol convention concerning the establishment and powers of a European police office were(a) published by Her Majesty's Government and (b) sent to police authorities or their representative organisations; what outline (i) proposals and (ii) drafts were sent to select committees of both Houses of Parliament; when the convention was signed and by whom on behalf of the United Kingdom; and which drafts were considered at ministerial meetings and on what occasions. [8303]
§ Mr. Howard[holding answer 9 January 1996]: The final text of the Europol convention was published, and laid before Parliament, on 8 December last year. Drafts of the convention were not public documents and therefore were not published nor made generally available. The police service were closely consulted throughout the negotiation of the convention through police representative organisations.
An explanatory note on the draft convention was submitted on 22 February 1994. Supplementary explanatory notes, with revised drafts of the convention, were provided on 17 November 1994 and on 31 May 1995. The final text of the convention, together with an accompanying explanatory note, was forwarded on 28 July last year.
277WVarious aspects of the negotiation of the Europol convention were discussed at meetings of the Justice and Home Affairs Council between late 1993 and 1995, but specific drafts of the convention were not considered in detail.
Agreement was reached in principle to the terms of the convention at the European Council meeting at Cannes in June 1995. The convention was subsequently signed on 26 July by Mr. David Bostock, the United Kingdom's deputy permanent representative to the European Union.